The present invention relates to the decoration of objects, more specifically, the decoration of objects having spherical surface by means of a heat transferable image. For purposes of this application, the term "spherical surface" means the surface of an object have curvature in at least two different directions, with curvature of each directions being independent of the other direction or directions. Examples of such objects include baseballs and softballs.
Decorating systems using heat transfer labels and decals have received wide-spread commercial acceptance over the last several years. Typically, such decorating devices comprise of a conveyor for feeding objects to be labeled or a decal into a transfer location, a feed mechanism for sequentially positioning labels for decals at the transfer location and a device for placing a label or decal against an adjacent object at the transfer location. Samples of such systems appear in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,565,055; 4,300,974 and 3,434,902.
One problem which poses a challenge to the prior art is that of applying the heat transferable image to a spherical surface. Typically, the objects which receive heat transferrable labels or decals have flat surfaces or are cylinder type objects, such as bottles and mugs. U.S. Pat. No. 5,565,055 discloses a device for decorating cylindrical type objects having oval or round cross-sections such as antiperspirant bottles. U.S. Pat. No. 4,874,454 discloses a device for decorating a cylindrical object such as a mug. Apparatus of these types suffer the limitation that they are not able to adapt to applying a label or decal to an object having a spherical surface such as a ball.
One prior art reference is a machine which uses a heat transfer process to transfer an image to a spherical surface, such as a baseball, by flattening out the surface prior to the transfer. This reference does not attempt to transfer an image to a curved surface but rather to a flat surface which later becomes a curved surface. This device does not resolve the need for providing an apparatus which can apply an image to a spherical surface.
Accordingly, it is the principle object of the invention to achieve an apparatus for transferring an image to an object having a spherical surface.
Another object of the invention is to achieve an apparatus for transferring an image to spherical shaped objects having a variety of dimensions.